Hawaii consumers and businesses can now participate in a national class action settlement and file claims to recover overpayments resulting from a price-fixing conspiracy that increased the price of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) computer chips, Attorney General David M. Louie announced Wednesday.

A federal court in California has granted preliminary approval of multi-state settlements with all the major manufacturers of DRAM computer chips amounting to approximately $310 million. Purchasers of DRAM chips as well as devices and equipment containing DRAM chips in the United States from 1998 to 2002 are eligible to recover.

A DRAM chip is a common form of a memory chip found in computers and other electronic devices. Examples of devices containing DRAM chips include but are not limited to: desktop computers, laptop computers, computer servers, computer graphics cards, printers, video game consoles, MP3 players, PDAs, DVD players, digital video recorders.

Eligible purchasers must submit a completed claim form by August 1, 2014 with the settlement administrator. Claimants who purchased DRAM chips or products containing DRAM chips are expected to receive a payment ranging from a minimum of $10 up to the amount of the overpayment they actually made. Settlement payments are subject to final approval by the court, including the resolution of any appeals, which is anticipated to occur within the next two years.